Door to bilateral ties ‘cannot be closed,’ says new China envoy to US

Shanghai, China, Jul 29 (EFE).- China’s new ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, has said that the “door” to ties between Beijing and Washington “cannot be closed.”

According to the transcript of his statement published Wednesday night (Thursday, Beijing time) by the embassy, Qin assured that the continuing relations between the two powers is “the trend of the world, the call of the times, and the will of the people.”

The new envoy from Beijing stressed that China-US relations have “kept moving forward despite twists and turns” over the past half century.

Both countries are “entering a new round of mutual exploration, understanding and adaptation, trying to find a way to get along with each other in the new era,” he said.

In this regard, Qin reiterated the assessment that Beijing has made in recent months about the “critical juncture” that Chinese relations with the United States are at, clarifying that they are “facing not only many difficulties and challenges but also great opportunities and potentials.”

In this line of moderate optimism, the diplomat promised to “build bridges of communication and cooperation with all sectors of the United States” with the aim to “safeguard the foundation” of ties and “bring China-US relations back on track” based on “peaceful coexistence.”

Qin, 55, has worked in the Chinese foreign ministry since 1992, where he was a spokesperson before ascending to the position of vice minister of foreign affairs, overseeing Europe, information and protocol.

The new ambassador replaces Cui Tiankai, who announced in June that he was leaving his post after eight years.

Despite having been the Chinese ambassador during a period of great tensions between the two countries, especially during the presidency of Donald Trump, Cui showed a relatively moderate stance compared to the new generation of Chinese diplomats using so-called “wolf warrior diplomacy” of confrontational rhetoric. EFE

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